/5eg/ - Fifth Edition General

What's the best build for a warlock that want's contribute outside of combat, and do more than eldritch blast in combat?

That's called being a Wizard

Eldritch Bard

at some point the darkling may call his friend "Mah darkling" at that point he may tentatively call the darkling darkling.

Warlocks contribute a bunch out of combat with their invocations and pact of the chain/tome.

In combat, you should also be casting hex. :^)

I wish it wasn't so.

It's not. You can't meme the warlock out of relevance, no matter how hard you try.

This is fucking bait anyway. We have this conversation once a day, no matter how many times people explain how the warlock works.

Spell slot saving technique:
>have pouch of toads
>when combat starts, cast Hex
>when last enemy dies, transfer hex to a toad
>toad is now hexed
>when next combat starts, crush toad in hand
>transfer hex to new enemy
Why wouldn't this work?

Because you don't need the toad. As long as you concentrate on hex, you can reapply it when the next combat starts whether it's on a toad or not.

Because no one will let you do that to toads.

It would still only last 1 hour regardless of how many times you transfer it.

I'm a ForeverDM who just built his second character after my first one got killed by our new, awesomely brutal DM.

I haven't got to playtest him yet, but he's a level 4 Fallen Aasimar Tomelock. That means he has a whopping 7 cantrips, including several utility cantrips like Guidance and Light. Plus his racial ability to grow skeleton wings and scare enemies shitless while giving himself a +4 to the first attack each turn? I feel like I'll be able to do plenty.

>+4 to the first attack each turn
I'm worried by a foreverDM who knows the rules this badly.

The world ended but for about 17 days only.

>How did your last TPK go?
We know have Worm That Walks that almost achieved godhood to deal with.

>How did your last TPK go?
Played bought elemental gems during downtime. Summoned an earth elemental to take on a shit-ton of orcs.

Got crit by a stirge and lost concentration, used another gem to summon a water elemental and then was immediately dropped to 0.

The two elementals then proceeded to crush the party into dust.

>giving himself a +4 to the first attack each turn
Not gonna be an ass, but I would also like an explanation on how this works

>+4 attack
his racial ability doesn't do that, unless you're using some homebrew.

Volo's Guide, p. 105:

"Your transformation lasts for 1 minute or until you end it as a bonus action. During it, once on each of your turns, you can deal extra necrotic damage to one target when you deal damage to it with an attack or spell. The extra necrotic damage equals your level."

So, I meant +4 to damage. My goof.

My players walked into the amber temple at level 5. They retreated, but one guy wanted to go back for reasons related to his background, and the rest of the party followed him after he left alone.

They got crushed and we decided as a group to resurrect everyone with dark gifts since they liked their characters. It actually helped slow the campaign down a bit, we fast-forwarded through months of them being dead and walking the paths as ghosts and throwing themselves off the tower in Castle Ravenloft.

homebrewing a weapon for a buddy. He wants to use a bigass meathook on a chain. Here's what I've got:

d6/d8 slashing, versatile, light, special. Special is: if used 2h, it has reach.

I was considering adding: because the 2h aspect of it is a chain, you can use it 2h while wielding another light weapon in your off hand, BUT you can't make an attack with that off-hand weapon.

Thoughts?

What would be the purpose of being able to wield a weapon and not make an attack with it? Also, it would probably be hard to wield both a dagger and swing a chain at the same time.

>What would be the purpose of being able to wield a weapon and not make an attack with it?
the idea being that, if you've got the chain secured to your off hand, you don't need to stow your off-hand weapon to let rip with the long-range attack for one round, if you so desire.

>Also, it would probably be hard to wield both a dagger and swing a chain at the same time.
I've done some work with chain/rope-based weapons IRL; the off-hand rarely has much to do with making the attack beyond providing a secure point while the main hand lets the line play out and directs the attack. The off-hand needn't be holding the chain so much as have the chain secured to it; at the wrist, for example.

I'm not married to that addendum, I think it's a fine homebrew without it, but I'm interested to see what others think

>meatHOOK
i think piercing is a better fit than slashing in terms of damage type but it's not gonna break balance or anything

i mean, you've basically created a reach weapon that small races can utilize, otherwise it's just a shortsword. nothing about it seems broken or exploitable.

I had thought of that, but I wanted a reason to differentiate it from a fluffy spear... which I guess is what I'm brewing anyway.

I see where you're coming from, still seems like kind of a wired caveat. Everything else about it seems fine. Two-handed rapier that trades dual-wielding for reach.

> rapier

It's not finesse, but yeah, basically

>He wants to use a bigass meathook on a chain
Pudge please.

no idea what you're talking about

I'd argue that chucking a hook should probably not do more damage than forcibly jamming it into someone.
Unironically, just refluff war pick.

I prefer to Multiclass.

You want to play?

I'd forgotten about the war pick. Hmmmm.

Murdered the party with a group of kenku assassins in a sweet cliffside ambush

I wish; am poorfag with neither peasantry console nor ubermensch PC

How do this looks for a level 2?

Make way for terrible DM! Terrible DM coming through!

Rate my character idea:
>Half-Elf Bard / Haunted One background
>Possessed by a Greed Demon as a child, has never been aware of its presence
>Demon subtly influences Bard to acquire knowledge and trinkets
>Eventually presents itself as a God of Treasures i.e Warlock Seeker Patron

diggity 5/7

Need more context. What's this for?

Any thoughts or criticisms?

mmmmm, might depend on whether you go Tome/Blade/Chain, but no, I think you have a badass idea and a good mechanical build for it. I love multiclassing into Warlock at higher levels; I like the flavor of an adventurer attracting a Patron's notice and earning their favor, or what you've done with the slow-reveal of the 'voice in your head' coming to fruition

Item for a cleric or spellcaster, maybe

>warlocks get create undead but not animate dead despite them effectively being the same spell
>all warlocks can summon fey, but none can summon fiends

why is this?

hookfag again. here's my MkII based on a fluffy warpick: one of these two depending on whether or not he wants to be able to TWF easily

MkIIa: d8 piercing, versatile, special (if used 2h, damage does not increase but you gain reach)
MkIIb: d6 piercing, light, versatile, special (if used 2h, damage does not increase but you gain reach)

no lie, I like the MkIIa better

probably spell levels. IIRC, conjure fey is 6th level yes? Which puts it at once per day for a warlock, instead of 3-4 times per hour. Since 5e is balanced around only being able to do fun things once per day, and the rest of your day being unfun, any conjure option at 5th level or lower would not be allowed for a warlock.

I guess, but couldn't they just make planar binding a 6th level spell for warlocks? Or give them an invocation that has a once per day or higher limit that works the same instead of their invocation's that copy spells being crap nobody will ever use?

The idea of a warlock that made a pact with a devil but can't actually summon them is fucking stupid.

Don't even call it "versatile" IMO. Then it's probably fine.

Looks okay, ish, though probably strong for level 2. Also, has no recharge capability RAW.

I'm an idiot and don't want to admit it to my DM, am I using AC right? I have chain mail (16 ac), a shield (2 ac), and then I cast shield of faith (+2 ac). Does that put me at 20 AC regardless of my stats?

>Don't even call it "versatile" IMO. Then it's probably fine.

Good point.

Was planning on going Chain, though I had considered trying out Blade.

Yep. Light gives you +DEX Mod in AC, Medium gives you a maximum of +2 DEX Mod in AC, Heavy gives you flat AC.

Welcome to /5e/ class design, unless you're a wizard or bard there's something fucking stupid that you have to deal with.

could be cool to have a Greed Imp on your shoulder, yeah. I would say Tome or Chain is the best Warlock, and if you're a Valor Bard (though I'm assuming you'd go Lore, based on what you said about hunting knowledge), then Bladelock would be pretty redundant. Lore Bard / Tomelock would be thematically consistent and apropos, and pretty punchy overall.

Blade is basically garbage (I'm not trolling - it's one of the 4 archetypes in the original book considered to be legitimately bad). Chain is dope.

If your DM isn't completely stupid, by the time your warlock is level 11 they can probably request an audience with their patron anyway.

paladins are done really well, as are fighter/rogue if you're allowed to multiclass them into eachother and take some feats

this is also easily the least stupid monks have ever been but maybe that's not saying much

Level 2 spell or character? Because either way, a bonus action Magic Missile every turn seems a bit strong.

Cast spell once, then whip dick out and fap while still doing guaranteed damage every round.

keep in mind that if you want a familiar and aren't specifically attached to the idea of having an invisible one you can go tome and get the familar spell as one of your rituals

Is it that bad? I'll drop it then. I'm guessing it's nowhere near as good as some of the other spellblade options?

can someone explain to me how surprise works? I didn't realize that assassin rogue gets to just automatically crit during surprise, that sounds really dumb

it's pretty crap, IMO. It's worse than an EKnight at both casting and fighting.

Invisibility is awesome, and helps to make chain the best pact boon you can get, but it isn't the end all be all of chainlocks.

Chainlock familiars can shapeshift, make deception checks, speak, cast a fear spell, make checks with tools, etc. They can give you advantage on pretty much every skill check you make, because they're also capable of making those same skill checks. In combat, they can safely help action you every turn, or help action the paladin every turn. And thanks to the invocations, they make incredible scouts and agents.

Chainlock familiars are amazing.

It can work well if you take one of the pact weapon invocations in unearthed arcana since you basically get smite from them. If you want to play gish, you're probably better off as a valor bard or stone sorcerer though

Why is blade so bad? Legitimately asking because I was thinking of playing a HexBladeLock in an upcoming game. Weapon proficiency plus the ability to always have a weapon on hand, plus 2 attacks at lvl 5 seems decent to me, but I supposed I'm overlooking something.

this is all very cute but "three rituals from any list and the ability to cast literally any ritual from your main stat" is basically the single best thing warlock has besides boosted up eldritch blast

>but I supposed I'm overlooking something.
Your defense and limited spell slots

That's all pretty cute but having a wizard or other ritual caster in the group completely overrrides your utility. Pact of the Tome should only be considered if you're the only ritual caster in the group. But then you'd be a pretty weak group.

>Why is blade so bad?
beyond the fact that eldritch blast just sort of makes 90% of weapons pointless, it requires a pretty heavy invocation tax to keep it up to par, it makes you MAD until level 12 (and you're still mad because +Cha to your weapon is added onto it) and the other two options are extremely good

if you want to be a warlock that hits people in melee just play a paladin/warlock, if you want to pull weapons out of your asshole play eldritch knight. Being a blade warlock just feels kind of shitty, kinda like getting a pretty nice single gift for xmas and then looking in the window of someone getting tons of great shit

Hexblade actually isn't bad and mostly fixes a lot of problems with the Blade pact. In the base rulebook though, bladelocks only benefit for going into melee over other classes is CHA to damage. At level 14. You can't even use big weapons since going STR makes you MAD as hell without multiclassing and Warlock doesn't have way too many defensive options whenever it gets fucked in melee. The only reason to go Bladelock is if you're multiclassing paladin. But for base bladelock, everything you do is better done with eldritch blast spam

You can go Hexblade, just don't bother with Pact of the Blade.

What you're overlooking is that the DPS from Eldritch Blast + Agonizing Blast is always, all the time, without exception going to be higher than hitting with your pact weapon. And it's at range.
Pact of the Blade isn't "bad," per se, it's just that even when you have it, you're not going to want to use it.

If you're still interested in the concept, there's this homebrew document that attempts to address this issue.

EKnights vs Bladelock

Weapon on hand at all times? Both have it, and EKnights get all weapons AND Fighting Style.

Casting? EKnight gets more slots and more spells but a lower level cap.

Number of attacks? EKnights get more (4 at level cap) just by being a Fighter, Bladelocks have to spend an Invocation for Thirsting Blade.

Armor/HP? EKnight wins by a mile. Full armor proficiency and a d10 HD vs a d8.

I'm probably going to be wrong here, but my understanding is:

- When starting combat, roll Perception checks versus Stealth. If the enemies do not detect the nearby enemies, they are surprised. If they do detect nearby enemies, they are not.
- Surprise works on a per enemy basis; so you can have certain members of a group that are surprised and other ones that are not
- You roll Initiative as normal. If an enemy is surprised, it cannot take reactions, and cannot do anything during its turn (no movement/action). HOWEVER: After it's initiative has passed, it no longer counts as surprised, and can now take reactions.

Assassin rogue can automatically crit during surprise, but surprise is a lot stricter than people tend to play it. If the enemy detect ANYONE in your party, so assassin trait doesn't work anymore. If the enemy beats you in initiative, they are no longer surprised, and assassin trait doesn't work anymore.

>What you're overlooking is that the DPS from Eldritch Blast + Agonizing Blast is always, all the time, without exception going to be higher than hitting with your pact weapon. And it's at range.

There is an exception. You can build pact of the blade builds featuring crossbows, and polearms that outdamage eldritch blast.

Original homebrewery link: homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/BkSFaLyGB-

on top of what everyone else said, if you want to be a warlock that fights in melee you can just take tome for shelilagh and use a quarterstaff with PAM, which is more effective than almost any melee build a bladelock could do AND it's cooler because you can use that staff as your arcane focus too and use it to shoot eldritch blasts or sword coast cantrips

Can you name these things?

Is it possible to play this game without

>Eldritch blast is no longer a warlock cantrip and cannot be selected upon leveling up by any means except via the new Eldritch Warrior class feature
What the fuck

Thank you for explaining. I wasn't looking at it PHB only as my DM said most UA would be allowed and Hexblade patron seemed to make BladeLocks decent in melee.

Without what user?

Buffing up the melee option while removing the temptation of the ranged option, as it were. Note that this applies only if you pick the melee option.
>implying you read further than that sentence before posting

Without making mistakes, having regrets, and losing friends?

Does Cutting Words and Lucky work together e.g have the enemy reroll his attack roll, then lower that attack roll with Cutting Words?

No.

Wouldn't that take 2 reactions?

What are some fun rule hacks for 5e?
I'm going to be running a puzzle-heavy campaign (likely just a single session or two, but we'll see) that is going to be based around fucking the 4th wall up, and I want more puzzles based around RAW rules. As far as I can tell, the peasant railgun trick still works for moving things impossibly quickly from point A to B, so I'll probably work that in, but I don't see much else in that vein (to be fair I don't come to Veeky Forums much any more, and that's where I learned most of the shit for 3e).

Of course not, user is just trying to bait yet another martial vs caster ""debate""

No. But you'll also shine brightly, make memories, and meet new friends. So it sorta evens out.

I found the Roll20 importing tool on astranauta.github.io/5etools.html and it's super helpful for loading in monsters especially. Is there anything similar to this but for pregen player characters?

Reposted this twice already, I won't spam it here any more.

I was gonna say, I've been plying my druid for 6 monthes without any serious issue other than the incorrect use of thunderwave

>rule hacks
>puzzles based around RAW rules
>puzzles that can literally not be solved without metagaming